^6 SINGING BIRDS. 



but as the period of incubation approaches they grow silent. 

 Suited to the sterile climates they inhabit, their fare, besides 

 the seeds of the pine, alpine plants, and berries, often consists 

 of the buds of the poplar, willow, and other northern trees and 

 shrubs ; so that they are generally secure of the means of sub- 

 sistence as long as the snows are not too overwhelming. The 

 individuals as yet seen in the United States are wholly young 

 birds, which, it seems, naturally seek out warmer climates than 

 the adult and more hardy individuals. 



According to Mr. T. McCulloch, of Pictou, Nova Scotia, in 

 very severe winters flocks of these birds, driven from the pine 

 forests by famine and cold, collect about the barns, and even 

 enter the streets of Pictou, alighting in quest of food. A male 

 bird at this season, caught in a trap, became very familiar, and 

 as the spring approached he resumed his song in the mornings, 

 and his "notes, hke those of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, were 

 exceedingly rich and full. As, however, the period for migra- 

 tion approached, his familiarity disappeared, and the desire of 

 liberty seemed to overcome every other feeling. For four days 

 in succession his food remained untouched, and his piteous 

 wailing excited so much commiseration that at length he was 

 released. The Pine Grosbeak is' said to breed in Maine as 

 well as in Newfoundland and Labrador. 



The visits of this handsome bird to New England and the more 

 southern portions of Canada are decidedly irregular. During an 

 occasional winter the flocks are large and numerous, while again 

 for several seasons but a few stragglers may appear. 



Dr. Coues thinks that there is no question but that the bird is a 

 " resident " in northern New England, breeding in some parts of 

 Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont ; but I am much inclined 

 to question it. Very possibly a few pairs may pass an occasional 

 summer in that region, but I can find no evidence of the birds 

 having been seen there with sufficient frequency to warrant their 

 being termed residents. 



The only known instances of this species having built in the 

 vicinity of northern New England must be credited to New 

 Brunswick. These are Boardman's hypothetical nest, found near 

 St. Stephen; the unfinislied nest which Banks discovered the 

 parents at work upon, near St. John ; and the nest with three 



